Motor sports Books

Book SynopsisIn over 50 years as a renowned motoring journalist and racing driver, Jeremy Walton has driven many, many hundreds of performance cars, but Fords have always been prominent among them and particularly close to his heart. He was on the scene when fast Fords arrived in the early sixties alongside the Blue Oval becoming serious about motorsport. He has tested almost every significant performance derivative ever since, many straight from Ford’s competitions department. From Cortinas to Capris, Escorts and Sierras, via the epic GT40s to extraordinary Transit Supervans and into the new Millennium with Mondeo, Focus and Fiesta, Walton was there.   Populars and Anglias: the ‘Berpop’ club racing special; Harry Potter boosts Anglia’s global fame; future Grand Prix talent within Roger Williamson’s Anglia; World Champion Graham Hill’s speedy Goodwood endurance week. Cortinas in all their variety: from the ex-Jim C

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Book SynopsisDerek Warwick has been a popular and highly respected figure in motor racing for nearly 50 years, known for his tough and determined personality as well as his talent and bravery behind the wheel. Now, with characteristic honesty and humour, he tells his inspiring story in a memoir that holds nothing back. Although he never won in Formula 1, due to ill fortune and so often being in the wrong car at the wrong time, he did achieve the results he deserved in sports car racing, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Championship in 1992, plus finishing series runner-up with Jaguar in 1986 and 1991. In the twilight of his racing career, that world title was a fitting companion to the one he had earned as a short-track oval racer nearly 20 years earlier. Derek’s unconventional racing baptism saw him excel on short-track ovals, winning the World Championship at Wimbledon Stadium in 1973 aged 19.  Climbing the ladder: winner of 33 Formula For

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Book SynopsisContains detailed race reports on all 20 MotoGP races with all three classes showcased, The World Superbike series is covered round-by-round. Also includes: The Isle of Man TT races and the MotoAmerica Series. Backed by insightful personality and technical features and comprehensive results of racing worldwide

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Book SynopsisPeople lie, cheat, steal and even kill for a variety of reasons, one of which is to go motor racing, a particularly expensive and egotistical sport. This intriguing book, the result of years of research, encompasses not just those who have been 'driven to crime' in order to pay for their sport but also characters within motor racing who have been involved in wrongdoing, sometimes through no fault of their own. Over 60 true stories cover webs of deceit and numerous crimes including drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement, robbery, fraud, murder and money laundering. The author investigates misdemeanours at all levels, from drivers, designers and mechanics to team owners, entrants and sponsors. This book will appeal not only to motor racing enthusiasts and cognoscenti on both sides of the Atlantic but also to anyone who enjoys reading about crime. Key content • Stories of motorsport chicanery from all over the world, including… • Fraud: Southern Organs (lay preachers who faked suicide and hid on a remote Scottish island); Jerry Dominelli (a Ponzi scheme that funded top-level racing Porsches); Jean-Pierre Van Rossem (self-styled stock-market guru who bankrolled an F1 team); Dominic Chappell (serial bankrupt racer brought down after purchasing a British department store); David Thieme (the Lotus sponsor who vanished). • Murder: David Blakely (the driver killed by his lover Ruth Ellis); Franco Ambrosio (F1 sponsor of Shadow and Arrows); Elmer George (American racer who married into Indy ‘royalty’); Ricardo Londoño-Bridge (Colombia’s first F1 driver); Mickey Thompson (1960s American drag-racing icon); Nick Whiting (casualty of the biggest gold bullion heist in British history). • Swindles: James Munroe (accounts manager who embezzled his way to a racing McLaren F1 GTR); Lord Brocket (jailed for staging the theft of his classic cars, including Ferraris); Andrea Harkness (stripper who ripped off NASCAR). • Drugs: Ian Burgess (sometime British F1 racer); Randy Lanier (drug-smuggling IMSA champion); John Paul Sr and Jr (talented son dragged into a racing father’s drug-running); Vic Lee (super-successful team owner with a dodgy transporter); the Whittington brothers (more misdeeds in IMSA circles). • Other misdemeanours: Roy James (Great Train Robbery getaway driver); Bertrand Gachot (jailed after road rage in London); Juan Manuel Fangio (kidnapped by Cuban rebels in 1958); Colin Chapman (the unresolved ‘DeLorean Affair’); ‘Spygate’ (Ferrari design secrets passed to McLaren).

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Book SynopsisNot only has Cosworth designed and supplied many race car engines, which won F1, CART, and many other Championship races, but it has also produced many celebrated high-performance road-car engines. In more recent times, its growing expertise in developing electronic data capture components, and in providing ultra-high-tech engine manufacturing facilities, has made it a world leader. The expansion continues, and in this book the Cosworth story has been brought up-to-the-minute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the legendary DFV F1 engine.Trade ReviewEven if you know the Bosworth story inside out, this is a great read. While it may look like a coffee table book with its fins illustrations, including a number of cutaway drawings, it is a very serious read indeed.- Historic Racing Technology; "Thorough" is too weak a word to describe Robson's research.- Motor Sport; It is written in a style which is easy to rad, and has lots of information interspersed with timely and illuminating anecdotes. For those with a more corporate interest, turnover figures are also given a year by year basis. It really does follow the company, rather than just the people.- www.silhouet.com. The book packs and enormous amount of meticulously assembled information into its 256 pages and the detailed appendices, particularly where dealing with the individual engines produced by the company, are an invaluable source of reference. - Speedscene. This revised edition of Graham Robson's detailed work follows the Bosworth story from its humble beginnings up to the present day. With increased use of colour and input from the company's current American owners, the book is sure to appeal to those with an interest in this legendary engineering firm. - Classic & Sports Car. This book covers the entire history, life and times of the famous British high-performance engineering company, from its 1958 foundation by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, though its often-exciting and always fascinating evolution, to its expansion and worldwide success in both motorsport and high-performance road cars. Graham Robson is one of the UK's most celebrated motor historians. During an extensive career, he has had more than 160 books published about motoring subjects, including motorsport and classics. and some definitive make and model histories. In the past Graham has owned several Cosworth-engined road cars, and has also been involved in confidential projects that included Cosworth content. He has been well-known to, and well respected by, Cosworth for many years, and with the support, aid and enthusiasm of the company itself, Cosworth - The Search for Power is the only authentic book on this world-famous British automotive concern. - CarSport.Table of ContentsContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionForeword Chapter 1 Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin- the foundersChapter 2 Early days in North LondonChapter 3 Big moves- to Northampton, and into F2Chapter 4 Fame in F1- the DFV projectChapter 5 Belt-drive- BDA and its successorsChapter 6 Diversions - cars, motorcycle engines, and automatic transmissionsChapter 7 The world's motor industry comes shoppingChapter 8 DFV developments- Cosworth's amazing V-8Chapter 9 Turbocharging in F1- the Ford V-6 projectChapter 10 Company into Group -Worcester, Wellingborough, UEI and Carlton Chapter 11 The Sierra project- a quantum leap into the futureChapter 12 A new 'atmo' F1 engine for the 1990sChapter 13 New business in the 1990s ...Chapter 14 Motorsport - winning all around the worldChapter 15 Turbo V8s and V10s- the pace quickensChapter 16 Cosworth Racing + Ford - a new life beckonsChapter 17 Cosworth in the new centuryChapter 18 Cosworth's last F1 enginesChapter 19 New products, and new horizonsAppendix 1 Cosworth engines from 1960Appendix 2 Cosworth-engined road carsAppendix 3 Victories by Cosworth-Ford engined cars in World Championship F1 racesAppendix 4 The list of F1 makes which have used Cosworth-Ford engines - 1967 to 2013 inclusive The thoughts of Chairman Duckworth

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Book SynopsisThe inspirational story of the female motorsport pioneer who broke through the gender barrier to compete in and win some of the most iconic rallies in the world.Rosemary Smith is recognised internationally for her outstanding achievements in the world of motorsport. A female pioneer in a notoriously male-dominated sport, she drove in the Monte Carlo rally eight times, winning the Coupe des Dames on numerous occasions as well as competing in most other iconic rallies all over the world, including the London to Sydney in 1968, the World Cup London to Mexico in 1970 and the East African Safari Rally in the 1970s. In a Hillman Imp, Rosemary won the Tulip Rally outright, beating all the male drivers to the finish.Now, for the first time, Rosemary reveals the inside story of her amazing life, recounting many memorable adventures and exploits both on and off the track.But Rosemary's story is not all fast cars and marathon rallies. She writes with honesty about her early life, about a disastroTrade ReviewA ‘brazenly honest and profound autobiography. … Wise and still feisty at 81…her life has been by turns thrilling, glamourous and emotionally devastating.’ – Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisQuite simply, the autobiography of a true international sporting legend and renowned businessmanTrade Review'A superb read...This is the story of a man of true national value' * Independent *'It includes some of the most compelling prose I have ever read...I didn't want to put it down' * Daily Telegraph *'Powerful' * The Times *'A superior sporting memoir' * Herald *'Beyond the sport, this is a compelling tale of his battle against the odds and how he achieved worldwide recognition as a sportsman, role model and accomplished and respected businessman' * Motoring & Leisure *

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Book SynopsisFrom its humble beginnings in the 1970s, Knockhill Racing Circuit has evolved and developed to become Scotland's Motorsport Centre - the modern, fully-equipped race track that we have today. Over the years Knockhill has seen its share of thrills, spills and action, all now captured in this beautifully presented band informative official 50th anniversary book.This is the story of Knockhill's journey from a farmer's grazing land to an international race track, reliving legendary moments, incredible action and motorsport triumphs as well as the stories of the men and women who have raced and worked at Knockhill over the last half century. Charting the highs and lows of both the racing and the business over the years, this is a story of the courage, determination and willpower needed to succeed against all the odds, on and off the track.With a huge range of brilliant photographs bringing the last five decades to life, KNOCKHILL relives the racing exploits of so many of the greats, from Colin McRae and David Coulthard to Niall Mackenzie and Steve Hislop, not forgetting legends like Sir Stirling Moss, John Cleland, Louise Aitken-Walker and Gordon Shedden amongst many others. And it's the perfect way to celebrate the 50th anniversary and look forward to fifty more amazing years of motorsport at Knockhill.

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Book SynopsisThe First Three Shelby Cobras, the third book in the acclaimed Exceptional Cars series, tells the story of three remarkable cars, the first AC Cobras created by the legendary Carroll Shelby in 1962 and now favorites of sports-car enthusiasts throughout the world. The prototype CSX2000 has been described as the “most important American car”, although it was built on a British AC Ace chassis with an American Ford V8 engine. It was retained by the Shelby family until 2016, when it sold at auction for a record $13.75 million. CSX2001 was the first production Cobra, and was delivered to American racing driver Ed Hugus. It was later sold to Frenchman Jean-Marie Vincent, who raced in the Tour de France and in numerous European hillclimbs.  CSX2002 was the first Cobra to race and nearly won its inaugural outing at Riverside, driven by Bill Krause, until sidelined by a broken rear hub. It did take the first ever Cobra win, with Dave MacDonald at Tucson in March 1963. Its success led to a series of competition wins that made Shelby's Cobras famous and admired across the globe. All three cars are now the pride of car collections in the United States of America. CSX2000 and CSX2002 are part of the Larry Miller Collection, and CSX2001 belongs to California-based motorsport aficionado Bruce Meyer.

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Book SynopsisAston Martin is the GreatBritish survivor among car manufacturers.This comprehensive and timely two-volume studyby Russell Hayes covers Aston Martin's adventure from the very beginning.

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Book SynopsisFerrari's sporting history, from the origins to 1988, the year of Enzo Ferrari's death, narrated in 400 pages and more than 700 photos, most of which previously unpublished and drawn from the publisher's own archive. More than a book, this is a unique and prestigious document that reviews year by year, from 1947 to 1988, the true sporting epic of Ferrari's Ferrari. Page by page, we find champions of the calibre of Tazio Nuvolari, Alberto Ascari, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Gilles Villeneuve and many others, who in Formula 1 and elsewhere won world titles at the wheel of unforgettable cars such as the 500 F2, the 158 F1, the Testa Rossa, the 250 GTO, the 330 P4 and the successful 312 T family, from the 1950s through to the late 1980s. This new enlarged edition includes not only champion drivers, but also the men and the mechanics who lived in close contact with the "Drake". They are described in specific text boxes: from Romolo Tavoni to Mauro Forghieri, from Franco Gozzi to Marco Piccinini, from Ermanno Cuoghi to Giulio Borsari. All accompanied by contextual texts by Leonardo Acerbi, a Ferrari historian of great experience. The book contains a unique collection of images, many in black and white but also a series of very rare colour shots, the majority by Franco Villani, a great reporter long associated with the Prancing Horse. An album allowing us to relive one of the greatest sporting stories of all time.

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Book SynopsisValentino Rossi’s announcement of retirement brings down the curtain on an incredible career in the MotoGP motorcycle world championships. With his nine titles, including seven in the premier class, he is widely regarded as the greatest motorcycle racer of all time, and his 26 seasons of Grand Prix racing make him unique across both motorcycling and Formula 1. Rossi has been captivating fans since he won his first Grand Prix at the age of 17 and even in his final season, at the age of 42, he has been riding faster than ever. In this major new book by top MotoGP journalist Mat Oxley, each and every one of these races comes under the microscope, complete with perspectives about Rossi’s achievements, the controversies, his character, and analysis of his bikes. This is a Valentino Rossi book like no other

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Book SynopsisSince 1950, fifteen Australians and nine New Zealanders have raced in world championship Formula One, the pinnacle of motor racing. Three - Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme and Alan Jones - have won the world title.Two have died in the attempt without ever facing the world championship starters' lights.So few drivers make it to Formula One. Ever fewer succeed in the fastest and most challenging four-wheeled sport of all.Now John Smailes, author of the bestselling Climbing the Mountain, Race Across the World, Mount Panorama and Speed Kings, gives us the definitive story of our involvement with Formula One, from the pioneer days in the aftermath of World War II, to the championship glory of Brabham, Hulme and Jones, the grit and determination of Mark Webber, and Australia's current Formula One star, the irrepressible Daniel Ricciardo, all the way to potential champions of the future like Oscar Piastri.With over 150 stunning photographs, and interviews with drivers past and present, as well as the engineers, managers and team owners behind the scenes, this is the must-have book for every Australian and New Zealand fan of Formula One.

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Book SynopsisThe star of some of the most beloved films of Hollywood's golden age--including Bullitt, The Great Escape, and The Magnificent Seven--Steve McQueen's unflappably roguish persona earned him the nickname "The King of Cool" and the highest salary of any movie star of his time. Marshall Terrill's new book draws on more than five decades of media coverage, memorabilia, and research to serve up a slew of quotations straight from the mouth of the man himself. Steve McQueen in His Own Words lets us hear directly from this iconoclastic actor through a wide array of sources: interviews, published articles, personal letters and audiotapes, providing an intimate view of McQueen as an actor, filmmaker, racer, pilot, husband, and family man. Accompanying the hundreds of quotes are an equally impressive number of photos, illustrations, personal documents, and memorabilia, many of which are published here for the first time. Steve McQueen in His Own Words paints a portrait of a complex, contradictory man who managed to become one of the greatest icons in cinema history while never sacrificing the passions and beliefs that drove him.

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Book SynopsisThe Phenomenal Sunday Times No1 Bestseller‘It was the start of the third lap of the 2010 Senior TT, the last race of the fortnight.Trade ReviewEntertaining ... Very much like talking to Guy – fast, scattergun-style, slightly confusing and contradictory on occasion! Guy Martin fans will love it. * Motorcycle Racer *

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Book SynopsisRick Broadbent is a sports writer for the Times, for whom he covers MotoGP, among other things. He has previously witten books on football, boxing and athletics as well as, most recently, collaborating with motorcycle legend Ron Haslam on his autobiography Rocket Men, published by Bantam Press in July 2008.Trade ReviewThis is a stunning book. It is history but reads like a "can't put it down" novel - hardly surprising considering it grippingly features the two greatest motor cyclists of all time, Mike Hailwood and Valentino Rossi. Rick Broadbent tells the enthralling story of a thrilling and dangerous sport like never before and it had me by the throat -- Murray WalkerIt was an odd decision to alternate a celebration of the brilliance of Valentino Rossi, today's Italian motorcycling superstar, with a reconstruction of episodes from the life and times of Mike Hailwood, the biking ace of the 1960s and 1970s, but it succeeds brilliantly. The technology is quite different, and so are the rewards, but the requirements of a true racer - courage and skill - are unchanging. In this hymn of praise to those who live closest to the edge, you can smell the grease and burning rubber -- Nick Pitt * The Sunday Times *Peppered with anecdotes and insight... a fantastic, page turning read which presents a window into the personalities which are normally only seen on the track or in a press conference * MotoGPBlog *A fantastic new book... well worth getting * MotoGP World *Impressive * Leicester Mercury *

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Book SynopsisThis revised reprint of a classic title covers the history and development of the racing Corvettes, from the car’s beginnings in the 1950s with just 250 horsepower, through the Corvette GTP of the 1980s, with over 1000 horsepower, and on to 1996, when 4th generation cars give way to the 5th generation. Included are many interviews with the drivers who raced these exciting, weighty and always fast cars, including John Greenwood, Dick Gulstrand, Jerry Grant and `Fast’ Phil Curring, amongst others. The book is illustrated with many quality photographs, supplied by General Motors and well-known motoring photographers; it also contains detailed specifications of the production cars, and road test reports.Table of ContentsForeword Introduction 1. The Early Years 1953 to 1962 2. The Sting Ray Era 1963 to 1967 3. Mainly Big Blocks 1965 to 1983 4. New Shape, New Beginning 1984 to 1996 5. Racer’s Return - The C5 & C5-R 1997 to 2002 6. Drag Racing Corvettes Appendices I - The Production Cars II Homologation Papers III Greenwood Corvettes IV Corvette Experimental Cars

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Book SynopsisThis long-awaited book is a photographic memoir by the only man to have won World Championships on motorcycles and in cars. Containing nearly 300 photographs from Surtees'' own collection as well as from the world''s finest motorsport picture libraries, this major book presents a complete visual record of Surtees'' life accompanied by fascinating commentary written in collaboration with co-author Mike Nicks. Chapters of particular interest are those covering Surtees''s formative years and the extraordinary 1960 season in which he raced both motorcycles and cars, winning two World Championships on MV Agusta bikes as well as taking second place for Lotus in the British GP, which was only his second Formula 1 race. Royalties from sales of the book will go to the Henry Surtees Foundation, which was set up to honour the memory of John''s son Henry, who was killed in a freak accident at Brands Hatch in 2009.- The early years (up to 1952): a childhood around motorcycle racing, appre

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Book SynopsisThis is a highly readable autobiography in which Derek Bell recalls his diverse motorsport life, including his eight classic 24-hour endurance sports car race victories.Derek Bell has enjoyed one of the most successful, diverse and wide-ranging careers of any British racing driver. In this highly readable autobiography he recalls a life in motor racing that spanned over 40 years and was packed with achievement and diversity. Bell is best-known as the consummate endurance sports car driver who won the Le Mans 24 Hours five times and the Daytona 24 Hours three times, teamed with racing greats such as Jacky Ickx, Hans Stuck and Al Holbert. Besides sports car racing, he has competed in many different cars and categories, from a works seat with Ferrari in Formula 1 in 1968 to rally driving a Vauxhall. This is a uniquely rich and entertaining story that will appeal to all motor racing enthusiasts.- Early successes and setbacks: climbing the ladder through F3 and F2, l

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Book SynopsisA feast of motorsport nostalgia from North East of England of the most memorable motor sporting events and achievements of the last 100 years.

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Book SynopsisCars are one of the most significant human creations. They changed our cities. They changed our lives. They changed everything. But in the next thirty years, this technology will itself change enormously. If Google get their way, are we all going to be ferried around in tiny electric bubble-cars? Or will we watch robots race a bionic Lewis Hamilton? And what about the future of classic cars?In Autopia, presenter of The Gadget Show and former executive producer of Top Gear Jon Bentley celebrates motoring's rich heritage and meets the engineers (and coders) who are transforming cars forever. From mobile hotel rooms to electric battery technology; from hydrogen-powered cars to jetpacks, Autopia is the essential guide to the future of our greatest invention. Fully designed with illustrations and photographs, this will be the perfect Christmas gift for car and technology enthusiasts everywhere.Trade ReviewAn interesting read... thorough enough to delight even those who consider themselves to be on the ball with industry developments. * Auto Express *Jon is a passionate, articulate and characteristic car man who has a canny knack of capturing the very essence of the sector I love so much! Exactly what he has done with Autopia. Brilliant. * Ant Anstead, presenter of Channel 4's For the Love of Cars *Jon Bentley is a true petrolhead. In Autopia, Jon makes even complex automotive innovations easy to understand. I couldn't put it down. * Mike Brewer, presenter of Wheeler Dealers *An enjoyable, fact-filled conversation with uncle Jon, taking us on a road trip through the speed bumps and detours on our journey towards an Autopian future. * Edd China, TV presenter and author of Grease Junkie *Intelligent, honest, and extremely interesting. Just like Jon. * Richard Porter, founder of Sniff Petrol, and script editor of The Grand Tour *Fascinating and entertaining. No one is better placed than Jon Bentley to open up the past, present and future of the motor car. * Tiff Needell, former presenter of Top Gear and Fifth Gear *Table of Contents0: Introduction: Why the Car Matters 1: Connected and Autonomous: the Rise of the Robot Cars 2: Sparking Innovation: Alternative Power and the Future of the Internal Combustion Engine 3: Designing the Future: How the Shape of Cars will Change 4: Speeding Ahead: the Future of Performance Cars and Motorsport 5: Hackers and Crash-Test Dummies: Safety and the Age of Automation 6: The Future of the Past: Classic Cars and Enthusiast Drivers 7: Conclusion: Is the Car Dead?

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Book SynopsisThis is the authorised biography of one of the best-liked bad boys in British motorsport. John Chatham, driver, racer, repairer, rebuilder, tuner, trader and lover of Austin-Healeys, was, according to Geoffrey Healey, "uncontrollable" in his youth, and has only mildly mellowed with age. Burly and genial, but formidably competitive, and not above bending the rules when he thought he could get away with it, to many he is the archetypal club racer. John is so synonymous with Austin-Healeys that the most famous racing Healey in the world, DD300, is so well-known mainly because John campaigned it for decades, notching up tens of thousands of racing miles. But his career embraces far more than one car, and until this biography no-one had attempted to fill in the gaps. The book is not a dry description of one club race after another. It does include a list of John's principal sporting achievements, but no complete record exists of the hundreds of events which made up his competitive career, so the writer has not attempted to compile one. Instead Norman Burr, who was himself acquainted with John in his youth, has created a more rounded and personal account, full of motoring and sporting anecdotes, but also telling the story of John's family, his work, his business, his three wives and his lovers. John has a comprehensive photo library from which the book is generously illustrated, with cartoons added to illustrate some of the moments that a camera was not around to record. Thoroughly politically incorrect even by the standards of the 1960s, it's an account which will strike a chord not only with admirers of Big Healeys, but also with anyone who believes that independent thinking, and the courage to apply and enjoy it, is the greatest virtue of all. This book is now available in paperback format, due to popular demand.Trade ReviewNow over 79 years of age, Chatham is remembered fondly in this book, which is crammed with more than 150 pictures in its 160 pages of engaging text. There is a lot to admire in this excellent book. - Iain P W Robertson, Freelance. If you didn't get a copy [in 2010] or are new to the life and times of JC I encourage you to get a copy now. - REVCOUNTER. It's a rollicking ride (and read) telling of a life lived at top speed. - Classic Car Weekly. Although a book that will mostly appeal to Austin-Healey enthusiasts, more general readers should also enjoy reading about Chatham's motoring exploits. - New Zealand Classic Car. All racing enthusiasts will surely enjoy this tale. - Victory Lane. Incredibly worthwhile book. - klassiekerrally.nl. If you missed out on getting a copy of this book when first released in 2010, don't miss the opportunity available now. – Healey Torque.Table of Contents1 Early years: life before the driving licence 2 First Healeys: SAL 75 and DGL666 3 DD300 and the Modsports years 4 The MGC and the Targa Florio 5 DD300 returns 6 Team Healey 7 The London-Mexico 8 The Conclave Challenge 9 Tailpiece: John Chatham in (semi) retirement

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Book SynopsisThis is the complete history of British international rally events, starting with the very first RAC rally of 1932, which included 1000 miles of road motoring, when a mere three driving tests were needed to produce a result. By 1951 an international permit had been achieved, a speed element was included, and the 'Rally of the Tests' ran until 1960. From 1961, the event took on a number of high-speed, loose-surfaced Special Stages, the Scandinavian influence became clear, and the event took on a World Championship qualification in 1973. In that time, competing cars had progressed from having perhaps 50bhp to at least 300bhp, and even more high-tech machines with 500bhp and four-wheel-drive would follow. By then the RAC Rally was - and remains in its present form as Wales Rally GB - one of the three most important rallies in the world. Every 'works' team makes sure that it is represented, and it has a very important image throughout the world. Major sponsors embraced the event from the 1960s - first The Sun and Daily Mirror, then Lombard, and Network Q, and finally the Welsh government - which in recent years has become a very high-profile showcase for the world's most exciting cars. Few other British International events have such a long and distinguished record. The 75th running of this event takes place in 2019. With year-by-year accounts of all events in the Rally's history, copiously illustrated with period photographs, and covering the various challenges posed by such crises as foot and mouth disease, weather conditions and controversy over rules and regulations, this book is the definitive guide.Trade ReviewPut it on your Christmas list - Old Stager --- A one-stop history right up to 2018 - Motor Sport --- Now, produced in softback, it’s even great value for money. - Auto TraditionTable of ContentsContents Foreword Introduction Table of winners- 1932 to 2018 Where it all Began Chapter 1 : 1932 - 1939. Driving Tests and Concours Overview - leisure motoring, gentle rallying 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 Chapter 2 : 1951 - 1959. An International 'Rally of the Tests' Overview 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Chapter 3 : 1960 - 1971. Special Stages and Scandinavians Overview 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 Chapter 4 : 1972 - 1980. The Escort Era Overview 1972 1973 Sidebar :13in. or 15in. wheels 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 Sidebar : Dealer Team Ford in 1978 1979 1980 Chapter 5 1981 - 1986 ; Turbocharging, four-wheel-drive and Group B Overview 1981 1982 1983 sidebar/feature : Riding with Ragnotti 1984 1985 1986 Chapter 6 1987 - 1996 : The Group A era Overview 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 sidebar/feature : Colin McRae Chapter 7 1997 - 2002 : World Rally Cars, the first Generation Overview 1997 1998 sidebar/feature; David Lapworth on World Rally Cars 1999 2000 2001 2002 Chapter 8 2003 -2012 : A new Home, in Wales Overview 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Chapter 9 2013 - 2018 : Deeside, and Closed Public Roads Overview 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Afterthoughts : What future for British rallying?

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Book Synopsis10 September 1961: at the boomerang-shaped racetrack at Monza half a dozen teams are preparing for the Italian Grand Prix. It is the biggest race anyone can remember. Phil Hill - the firstAmerican to break into the top ranks of European racing - and his Ferrari teammate, Count Wolfgang von Trips - a German nobleman with a movie-star manner - face one another in a race that will decide the winner of the Formula One drivers' championship. By the day's end, one man will clinch that prize. The other will perish face down on the track. Seeped in danger, seductive glamour and burning rivalry, this is the story of two young men living in the shadow of oblivion and dicing with death.Trade ReviewTerrific... A quite remarkable book which every motor sport aficionado will want to read -- Murray WalkerA compelling story - shocking, sad, tragic and very human - about men who willingly drove with the Grim Reaper and what motivated them to do so. -- Duncan HamiltonThe days of true motor-racing romance are long gone, but are superbly evoked... Cannell tells a story of heroism and carnage. * Independent *

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Book SynopsisLime Rock Park, the oldest continuously operated road course in America came about more by accident than design. Construction of the course began in 1955 at a time when open road racing had been banned in many states, and the use of military and civil airport runways for racing was losing favor with the paying spectators. Dubbed ‘The Road Racing Center of the East’ the park has a turbulent history bedevilled by financial crises, discord with the SCCA New England Region and expensive court cases involving the Lime Rock Protective Association. Despite the struggle to keep the circuit afloat, it prevailed against all odds. This book narrates this history of mixed fortunes during the first twenty years of the park’s existence when it was under the ownership of four different people and contains material unseen before including over 900 images.

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Book SynopsisFor nearly 25 years, the Catchpole cartoon was a hugely popular feature in Autosport magazine. Every week, Catchpole and his friends passed comment on events in motor sport through the skill and humour of artist Barry Foley. Now, Catchpole is back, with the publication of this collection of nearly 400 cartoons as printed in Autosport between 1970 and 1994. This is a unique title, capturing the humour and wisdom of the sport and re-visiting a host of characters including Demon Tweak (the ever-scruffy mechanic), the glamorous Booby Galore, accident-prone Mad Log Malone and veteran German racer Von Turnips.

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Book SynopsisThe latest in the Exceptional Cars series tells the story of one of the two cars bought by The Automovil Club Argentino (ACA). Painted in the bright blue and yellow Argentine racing colours, 1600 was to play an important role in the Argentine team's international expeditions to Europe. Fangio won two races in the car, the most important being at Pau in 1950, where he repeated his win in the ACA sister car a year earlier. As well as a detailed chronicle of the car’s highs and lows, the text includes profiles of the drivers who raced in 1600 and a personal account of driving and running the car by a former owner who describes the daunting task of re-creating a Maserati 4CLT engine from scratch. 

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Book SynopsisThis book, the first in Evro's new Formula 1 Greats series, covers one of the most revered Formula 1 cars ever made. Introduced in 1970, the wedge-shaped Lotus 72 competed for six seasons, winning 20 World Championship Grands Prix, two Drivers' titles (for Jochen Rindt in 1970 and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972) and three Constructors' titles (in 1970, 1972 and 1973), racing first in Lotus's evocative red, white and gold livery, then the equally eye-catching black and gold of the John Player Special period. Pete Lyons, Autosport's renowned Formula 1 reporter for part of the Lotus 72 era, explores the car's entire race-by-race career in his insightful commentary accompanying a magnificent array of more than 300 photos. The 1970 season: after troubled early development, the 72 finally took over from the long-serving 49, its four consecutive race wins enough to secure the World Championship for Jochen Rindt, posthumously after his death during practice for the Italian Grand Prix. The 1971 season: with promising youngster Emerson Fittipaldi elevated to team leader after Rindt's death, great things were expected of the 72's second season but it proved to be winless. The 1972 season: now in black and gold John Player livery, the 72 became far more competitive and Fittipaldi's four Grand Prix victories made him World Champion. The 1973 season: Ronnie 'SuperSwede' Peterson joined Fittipaldi to form a dream team and together they won seven races, but because Lotus's spoils were divided between the two drivers Jackie Stewart was able to come through to become World Champion. The 1974 season: still the 72 soldiered on, now as the fall-back car after its successor, the 76, failed to deliver; partnered by Jacky Ickx, Peterson won three Grands Prix. The 1975 season: well beyond its sell-by date, the 72 did a final season but by now it was far from effective, with Ickx's second place in the tragic Spanish Grand Prix its best result.

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Book SynopsisWhen, during the tumultuous 1976 Formula 1 season, Niki Lauda nearly perished in a conflagration at the Nurburgring and then, severely scarred, courageously fought back to race again only six weeks later, the Austrian earned admiration and adulation world-wide. While the saga of that year, and the battle with James Hunt for the World Championship, has been told many times, the rest of Lauda's racing has received less attention. This new book redresses that by documenting, race by race, his diverse driving career from 1968 to 1985. Through detailed dissection of each of his 328 races, in an eclectic mix of cars, a vivid picture emerges of a hugely determined and vastly talented racer who, despite many setbacks, left a remarkable legacy. All enthusiasts will treasure this comprehensive and richly illustrated examination of Niki Lauda's entire competition history.

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Book SynopsisIn the most glittering era of sports car racing, the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Lola T70 and its descendants radiated star quality. These big racers, both brutal and beautiful, graced the Can-Am stage in North America as open spyders and the world sports car championship as closed coupes. Powered by big American V8 engines, they were massively fast and exceedingly popular, both with fans and the racers themselves. In this important new book, which has taken Lola enthusiast Gordon Jones three decades to complete, the racing history of the T70 and the Can-Am models that followed -- from T160 to T310 -- is exhaustively recorded, complete with a superb array of over 600 photographs. All sports car devotees will treasure this labour of love.

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Book SynopsisContrary to popular belief, ‘Fluxie’ did not enter the world on full opposite-lock, nor did he have a cigarette in one hand and a pint in the other. Destined to race, he never got the biggest breaks but he did become one of motorsport’s most colourful and best-loved characters, someone who has always lived life to the full. His autobiography tells it how it was, covering not only the highs — including five championship titles — but also the many setbacks. Along the way we laugh with him about much of it, particularly the pranks, but also learn about some dark times that he has never previously divulged. This is a very different kind of racing driver’s memoir. Key content • Early days: growing up on a farm, first kart aged 6, muddling through in the classroom, lots of laughs — but also sexual abuse from a schoolmaster and an early racing mentor. • The spark ignites: starting to race in 1970 with a Formula 6 kart, then onwards to Formula Vee; brushing shoulders with Formula 1 working for the Token and Graham Hill teams. • Grabbing the chances: a Formula Vee title in 1975 leads to Formula 3 and Formula Atlantic, but still with various jobs to make ends meet, including as mechanic to motorcycle racing legend Giacomo Agostini for his four-wheel efforts. • Diversifying into sports cars: successful adventures in Sports 2000 and Thundersports, winning championships in both, plus Thundersaloons. • A true all-rounder: going into the British Touring Car Championship from 1988 in a wide range of tin-tops; racing a Jaguar XJR-15 in the big-money 1991 series held at Grand Prix races, including Monaco. • Championship double in 1996: the ‘golden year’ in the TVR Tuscan Challenge and the British GT Championship, the latter with a McLaren F1 GTR. • So much else: racing on into recent times, notching up nearly 50 years on track; testing competition cars for Motorsport News; driver tuition and track-day demonstrations

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Book SynopsisSelwyn Francis Edge, invariably known simply as ‘SF’, was a highly significant pioneer of motoring in Britain. When, in 1902, he drove a Napier to victory in the Gordon Bennett Cup, a mighty event on public roads between Paris in France and Innsbruck in Austria, he initiated serious British endeavour in motor racing. He was deeply involved in the birth of Brooklands, setting a 24-hour solo driving record there when the circuit opened in 1907. As a towering industry figure most closely associated with Napier and AC Cars, he played an important role in the growth of car manufacture in Britain. In the words of ‘Bentley Boy’ S.C.H. ‘Sammy’ Davis, ‘His keen grey eyes, the bushy eyebrows and the hawk-like face… made him a notable figure in any assembly.’ This biography uncovers the life of an extraordinary man whose achievements deserve to be far more widely recognised.

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Book SynopsisThis book takes the reader behind the scenes at Maranello Concessionaires Ltd, Britain's famous Surrey-based importer of Ferraris founded by Colonel Ronnie Hoare. When Neill Bruce first photographed a Ferrari road car, a Dino 246 GT, in 1971, his work so impressed the powers-that-be at Maranello Concessionaires that they commissioned him to do all their promotional photography thereafter. Whether shooting production cars, factory scenes or motor show stands, he has been in Ferrari's orbit ever since. In this illustrated memoir of his 50 years with Ferraris, he presents some of his best pictures - the great majority in colour - and tells engaging stories about how they came about, including some of the mishaps along the way. All Ferrari enthusiasts will be captivated by this delightful book.

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Book SynopsisThe story returns, with new chapters and prospects about to unfold. The agreement between Sauber and Alfa Romeo brings back to the World Championship stage a name that for so long was an integral part of Formula 1 series. Going back to the 1950 and 1951 seasons, the championship was bathed in the red of the Portello’s cars. Then came the eras of Chiti, Autodelta, the partnership with Brabham and then the Biscione marque’s return to F1 with the Alfa-Alfa. This book contains all this and much more, including the two seasons in the early Seventies with McLaren and March, the premature implosion of the agreement with Ligier, the sporadic appearances, especially of South African drivers, at the wheel of cars powered by an Alfa Romeo engine. The story is comprehensively illustrated with hundreds of colour and black and white images, many previously unpublished, and a list of all the results obtained by Alfa Romeo in Formula 1.

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Book SynopsisThe entire technical evolution and the competition history of a rally car as glorious as it was “unexpected” enclosed in a single volume. The Fiat 131, born as a tranquil family car, proved capable of transforming into a formidable rally competitor. This monograph draws on the testimony of the engineers who contributed to its creation and the numerous drivers and navigators who rallied it. Ingegner Sergio Limone was part of the team of engineers asked to define the 131 Abarth Rally project while the likes of Maurizio Verini, Michèle Mouton, Gigi Pirollo, Fabrizio Tognana, Dario Cerrato and Lucky Battistolli all, in various ways, contributed to making the Fiat 131 Abarth one of the most successful rally cars of all time with three World Championship titles to its name won in 1977, 1978 and 1980.

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Book SynopsisFollowing the book Lancia Rally Group B, Sergio Remondino has returned to the rallying world with a book examining the golden age of Lancia in the World Rally Championship. We start in the early Sixties, when a numerous group of enthusiasts began using Lancia cars – Appia, Flavias and even Flaminias – for the road races of the time, the forerunners of the rallies that were to come. The creation of HF at the behest of Cesare Fiorio, together with the advent of the Fulvia, created an authentic watershed and the definitive consecration of the Lancia marque on a global level. Between 1962 and 1982, Lancias conquered one Constructors’ title and four European Championships, three Constructors’ World Championships and two FIA Drivers’ cups, writing indelible chapters in the history of the sport, thanks to drivers and cars of absolute excellence, all of which relive in this invaluable book.

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